<\/p>\n
UNICEF says children in Gaza continue to be killed, injured and deprived of basic services despite the October Israel-Hamas ceasefire that was meant to suspend military operations.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
According to UNICEF, at least 300 children have reportedly been killed in about 300 days since the ceasefire agreement came into effect.<\/p>\n
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UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Edouard Beigbeder said the situation shows that the ceasefire is not protecting children. \u201cA ceasefire that leaves an average of one child dead every day is failing children,\u201d Beigbeder said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Beigbeder said many more children have been injured, some severely. \u201cWith hundreds more children injured, many severely, children in Gaza are still waiting for the end to the violence they were promised,\u201d Beigbeder said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The warning comes amid reports of a new United States-led peace plan for Gaza and a recent increase in Israeli airstrikes on alleged Hamas targets.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
UNICEF said families are now confined to about one third of the Gaza Strip, sheltering among destroyed buildings, rubble and uncleared waste.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Beigbeder welcomed signs of movement towards ending hostilities and increasing humanitarian deliveries, but said promises must now become action. \u201cFor children in Gaza, the test is simple. Does the killing stop? Does aid reach them at scale? Do hospitals reopen and water flow? Will children return to school safely in September?\u201d Beigbeder said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cChildren have heard promises before. This time, agreements must translate into action,\u201d Beigbeder said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
UNICEF said children across Gaza continue to face acute malnutrition, disease, unsafe water and damaged sanitation systems.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
UNICEF Spokesperson Louise Wateridge said health workers are treating exhausted mothers arriving at clinics with severely malnourished children.<\/p>\n
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Wateridge said premature births are also increasing, while more newborns are arriving in critical condition. \u201cThere\u2019s not enough incubators,\u201d Wateridge said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Wateridge said health workers have reported seeing \u201ctwo or even three babies sharing a single machine\u201d. \u201cIn Gaza, children only days old are already fighting to stay alive, born into partially functioning hospitals lacking equipment and medicine,\u201d Wateridge said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said airstrikes have caused civilian casualties and damaged medical supplies and civilian infrastructure.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
OCHA said 1 209 people have been killed and 3 943 injured since the ceasefire was announced on October 10, 2025.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said essential medical supplies, including some delivered by WHO, were destroyed after attacks near Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Despite the violence, UN partners continue to provide help where possible. OCHA said partners recently improved 3 000 makeshift shelters in Gaza City and distributed emergency shelter items to 9 000 households.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
UNICEF has also delivered more than 600 pallets of recreational kits, school bags and soap ahead of the new school year.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
More than 250 000 pre-school and school-aged children are participating in summer learning activities, but UNICEF says children urgently need safety, aid, healthcare, clean water and education.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–UN\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":41759,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false},"news-type":[26],"class_list":["post-41750","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-general_news","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"The United Nations (UN) Children\u2019s Fund (UNICEF) says at least 300 children have reportedly been killed in Gaza since the October ceasefire came into effect.","published_date":"","news_description":"The United Nations (UN) Children\u2019s Fund (UNICEF) says at least 300 children have reportedly been killed in Gaza since the October ceasefire came into effect.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/41750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/41750\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41752,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/41750\/revisions\/41752"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=41750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}